Criminal Penalties

Michigan Drunk Driving Arrest Can Lead to Job Loss

Published on: September 15, 2020 | by Ryan Ballard

After a Michigan drunk driving arrest, the first thing on many people’s minds is: will I lose my job? A recent story in the Detroit Free Press details how for many, the unfortunate answer is yes.

As the article explains, a public safety director for a city in Michigan was placed on leave because of an Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) charge. Even though the case hasn’t concluded, the officer is already facing consequences for the OWI charge. The final “verdict” on this officer’s job status could depend not just on the result of the case but also how the officer handles himself before the case is finalized.

The Michigan DUI lawyers are the Barone Defense Firm always discuss this issue with clients immediately after they have retained the Firm. It is important to address this issue at the beginning rather than at the end of a case because getting ahead of the issue can help our client’s save their jobs. There are several things to consider including:

Michigan Open Container Law | Michigan Criminal Law Attorney

Published on: July 10, 2020 | by Ryan Ballard

Open Container Law Michigan | Open Intoxicants Motor Vehicle

open container law in Michigan, drinking driving, dui lawyer A person in Michigan is guilty of a misdemeanor if they transport or possess alcoholic liquor in a container that is open or uncapped or upon which the seal is broken within the passenger area of a motor vehicles. However, the law passed by Whitmer during Covid may call this into question, and might provide a defense to your case.

Really? Are to-go Cocktails Legal?

Texas Pharmacist Gets 10 Year Prison Term for Health Care Fraud and Money Laundering

Published on: July 3, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

George Tompkins , a Texas pharmacist from Houston, was recently given a 10-year prison term after a jury convicted him of multiple felony counts, including health care fraud, money laundering and wire fraud. Known as the “compound king”, the 75-year-old was also convicted of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks. Mr. Tomkins was first arraigned on the 17-count indictment back in February 2018.

The evidence received by the court during the 6-day jury trial suggested that Mr. Tompkins, working with others, devised a health care prescription fraud scheme whereby they unlawfully received almost twenty-two million dollars in government payments for prescriptions that were medically unnecessary. The money was paid to Tomkins by the Department of Labor, and most of the prescriptions were given to patients referred to them by and through their contract to provide such services to state and federal employees. The payments were contracted through the Federal Employees Compensation Act program (FECA). Many hundreds of patients were involved in this prescription fraud scheme.

To assist in their criminal enterprise, Mr. Tompkins and his cohorts created a couple different shell companies through which much of the fraud was run. They used these companies to launder their ill-gotten proceeds. Part of the fraud involved continuing to ship prescriptions to their “patients” even after they had repeatedly been told to stop sending them.

Can I Legally Wear a Covid-19 Face Mask While Lawfully Carrying a Firearm in Michigan?

Published on: June 30, 2020 | by Ryan Ramsayer

The short answer is yes. There is no Michigan law specifically on this topic and the existing laws in Michigan do not otherwise preclude the wearing of a Covid-19 facemask while otherwise carrying a firearm in Michigan.

In Michigan, the Covid-19 Pandemic has brought significant changes and restrictions to Michiganders. One of the often-debated pandemic guidelines is the requirement to wear a facemask. Currently, there is no absolute rule on the facemask requirement, and the guidelines on this topic vary between counties, municipalities, stores, and restaurants to wear facemasks. While the actual scientific merits of the facemask requirements may remain up for debate, it also leads to significant questions of legality.

One of the questions frequently asked of the Michigan Gun Lawyers at the Barone Defense Firm is whether a person carrying a firearm can do so legally while wearing a facemask. Obviously, wearing a facemask while carrying a pistol into the local Kroger feels like you are going to rob the place, but is it illegal?

Financial Fraud Expected to Increase in Michigan Due to Covid 19 Experts Predict

Published on: June 24, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

One of the many unintended consequences of the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic may well be a significant increase in financial fraud. This is due in part to the central banks lowering of the prime interest rate to zero percent. With money this “cheap” companies and individuals are encouraged to borrow money, which is all well and good until the money must be repaid. And when money is cheap, individuals may use the money they have borrowed recklessly, taking greater risks of loss.

Financial fraud occurs when an individual or corporation offers to provide goods, services, or financial benefits knowing that that these things do not and may never exist. In these situations, the victims of financial fraud trade money for these benefits, but never receive what’s been promised to them. This is because the perpetrators of the financial fraud know that the benefits do not exist, were never intended to be provided, or were misrepresented. Typically, victims give money but never receive what they paid for.

Possibly the most famous historical example of financial fraud occurred in the 1870s and is referred to as a “Ponzi scheme.” Charles Ponzi was a businessman and financier who created the Securities and Exchange Company. Using this as a front to defraud, Mr. Ponzi took money from investors, and then, after a mere 45 days, promised to return to them a 50% profit. Trouble was that the money was never “invested.” Ponzi simply took the new money he was being paid today to pay off the older investors. Also called a “pyramid scheme” a Ponzi scheme can only last so long, and like all Ponzi schemes, it eventually collapsed.

What Happens to My Driver’s License if I Am Convicted of DUI in Michigan?

Published on: June 23, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

If you are convicted of DUI in Michigan, then your driver’s license will either be restricted, suspended, or revoked. The exact driver license sanction will depend on the nature of your DUI conviction and your prior record. Driver license sanctions for DUI range anywhere from a 90-day restricted license to a 5-year hard revocation. These sanctions are not imposed until after you are convicted. A conviction occurs when you either plead guilty to an intoxicated or impaired driving or are found guilty by a judge or jury.

The specific driver license sanction depends on the nature of your conviction, the number of prior offenses you have, and when those prior offenses occurred. The following is a brief explanation of these driver license sanctions:

First Offense Operating While Visibly Impaired (OWVI)

Michigan Chef Accused by at Least Seven Women of Domestic Violence

Published on: June 17, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

A Michigan chef has been accused of domestic violence by at least 7 different women, the Detroit News has reported. The Macomb County prosecuting attorney has charged him in at least one case involving his former wife.

According to Michigan domestic violence lawyers at the Barone Defense Firm, the term “domestic violence” refers to a specific kind of assault and/or battery; one where the accused has or had a domestic relationship or dating relationship of some kind with the alleged victim. Specifically, the applicable Michigan Compiled Laws section 750.81 provides that a domestic violence occurs when an individual assaults or assaults and batters any of the following:

Someone to whom they are or were married,

Does Michigan CPL Shooter Who Killed Armed Gunman Have a Viable Self Defense Claim?

Published on: June 16, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

Recent Mlive news reports that a Michigan CPL (Concealed Pistol License) holder shot and killed a gunman who was “seen firing gunshots into the air and pointing a handgun at motorists.” Will the CPL holder literally get away with murder, or will he go to prison? The question depends on how Michigan’s Stand Your Ground Law is interpreted.

According to Michigan’s Stand Your Ground Law, a person may use deadly force against another if, but only if, he or she honestly and reasonably believe that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent the imminent death or imminent great bodily harm or imminent sexual assault to himself or herself or to another individual. This is a simplified paraphrase of Michigan Compiled Laws section 780.972.

On a plain reading of the law therefore, it would appear that the CPL shooter has a viable self-defense claim. This assumes that three things are also true, because if they’re not, then no self-defense. First, the CPL shooter must not have been himself engaged in a crime. This seems like a reasonable assumption based on what little has been reported about this incident so far. Second, he must have been somewhere he was legally allowed to be. Again, we do not know the answer from the reports, but it seems likely the CPL shooter was not trespassing or otherwise someplace he wasn’t lawfully allowed to be. Finally, the CPL shooter must have believed that deadly force was the only way to defend himself or another person. This seems self-evident.

FBI Raid Leads to Several Medicare and Medicaid Prescription Fraud Charges

Published on: June 12, 2020 | by Patrick Barone

As part of an ongoing investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, several of Michigan’s pharmacists have been charged with Medicare and Medicaid Prescription Fraud. The allegations include claims that at least one scheme lead to the defrauding of the Federal Government of more than five million dollars. Further, that fraudulent claims were submitted to Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross via the service dialdrugspharmacy.com. Medications fraudulently prescribed included Clozapine and Alprazolam. According to the complaint, some of these prescriptions were written for dead people.

According to Title 18 of the United States Code, health care fraud consists of the knowing implementation (or attempted implementation) of a scheme intended to defraud a health care program using false pretenses. A pharmacist can violate this law even if they are ignorant of the law itself, or if they only have the “general intent” to violate the law. This is because health care fraud under this section is not a specific intent crime. The law defines “fraud” as being the intentional deception or misrepresentation of facts which lead to the receiving of an unauthorized benefit. But here again the intent need only be general and not specific. According to the Michigan prescription fraud lawyers at the Barone Defense Firm, this can lead to unfair prosecution of pharmacists who never specifically intended to violate the law.

There are many kinds of prescription fraud. Once type of prescription fraud involves a scheme whereby a prescription is set on “auto-refill” and then billed as scheduled when the patient never actually ordered or wanted the medication. These prescriptions are never picked up but the pharmacy non-the-less bills Medicare. This same medication can be “re-sold” many times over, thereby increasing the size of the auto-refill fraud. Another version of this kind of fraud involves giving the undelivered pills to patients, staff or medical sales reps for redistribution. This is most common with Opioid drugs that have significant street value.

What to Expect in the 48th District Court Bloomfield Hills Michigan

Published on: May 24, 2019 | by Patrick Barone

What to Expect in the 48th District Court Bloomfield Hills Michigan

If you were arrested for a misdemeanor or felony, including drunk driving, within the cities of Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Keego Harbor, Sylvan Lake, Orchard Lake and the Townships of Bloomfield and West Bloomfield, then your case will be handled in the 48^th Judicial District Court, located in Bloomfield Hills Michigan.

Arraignment Procedures

Your case will begin with an arraignment. This is the first court hearing where you will learn the exact nature of your charges and when the conditions of your bond are set. You should plan on hiring an attorney before your arraignment so that you can get the best possible bond.

After you are arraignment your case will be set for a pretrial. It is possible for your case to be resolved at the first pretrial, but in most instances, several pretrials are necessary before your case reaches a conclusion. A pretrial hearing is where your lawyer, the prosecuting attorney, and the judge, determine whether your case can be resolved without a trial. This is also when pretrial issues, such as legal defenses and evidentiary issues, would be resolved. The reason a pretrial is called a “pre”-trial is because these things need to be addressed by the various parties before the case can continue to trial. A pretrial is also where plea bargaining and sentence bargaining, if applicable, would be addressed.